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Rock Mechanics.pdf - Mining and Blasting

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MINING METHODS AND METHOD SELECTION<br />

the exploitation of the deposit. The stoping operation, i.e. ore mobilisation from its<br />

in situ setting <strong>and</strong> its subsequent extraction from the mine void, is the core of the mine<br />

production process. Clearly, control of rock performance within the orebody, <strong>and</strong> in<br />

the rock mass adjacent to the orebody, is critical in assuring the efficient geomechanical<br />

<strong>and</strong> economic performance of the individual stopes, <strong>and</strong> of the mine as a whole.<br />

The size of stopes means that their zone of influence is large relative to virtually<br />

all other mine excavations. Stope design therefore exercises a dominant rôle in the<br />

location, design <strong>and</strong> operational performance of other excavations which sustain<br />

mining activity. The principles of stope layout <strong>and</strong> design are integrated with the set<br />

of engineering concepts <strong>and</strong> physical operations which together compose the mining<br />

method for an orebody. This chapter considers in an introductory way the relation<br />

between the geomechanical properties of an orebody (<strong>and</strong> its host rock mass) <strong>and</strong> the<br />

appropriate method of mining it.<br />

The second type of mine excavation identified in Figure 12.1 is represented by<br />

stope access <strong>and</strong> service openings. These consist of in-stope development such as<br />

drill headings <strong>and</strong> slot raises, horizontal <strong>and</strong> vertical openings for personnel access<br />

to stope work places, <strong>and</strong> ore production <strong>and</strong> transport openings such as drawpoints,<br />

tramming drives <strong>and</strong> ore passes. These excavations are developed within the orebody<br />

rock, or within the orebody peripheral rock. Their operational life approximates that<br />

of adjacent stoping activity, <strong>and</strong> in some cases, such as drill headings, the excavations<br />

are consumed in the stoping process.<br />

The location of stope development in the zone of geomechanical influence of<br />

the stope, <strong>and</strong>, typically, the immediate proximity of a stope <strong>and</strong> its related service<br />

openings, may impose severe <strong>and</strong> adverse local conditions in the rock medium. The<br />

procedures discussed in preceding chapters may be applied to the design of these<br />

openings, provided account is taken of the local stress field generated by stoping<br />

activity, or of rock mass disturbance caused by stoping-induced relaxation in the<br />

medium. In all cases, design of a stoping layout requires detailed attention to the issues<br />

of position, shape <strong>and</strong>, possibly, support <strong>and</strong> reinforcement of stope development<br />

openings, to assure their function is maintained while adjacent extraction proceeds.<br />

These excavation design issues are obviously related closely to the geomechanical<br />

principles on which the mining method is based.<br />

Permanent access <strong>and</strong> service openings represent the third class of mining excavations<br />

illustrated in Figure 12.1. This class consists of openings which must meet<br />

rigorous performance specifications over a time span approaching or exceeding the<br />

duration of mining activity for the complete orebody. For example, service <strong>and</strong> ore<br />

hoisting shafts must be capable of supporting high speed operation of cages <strong>and</strong><br />

skips continuously. Ventilation shafts <strong>and</strong> airways must conduct air to <strong>and</strong> from stope<br />

blocks <strong>and</strong> service areas. Haulage drives must permit the safe, high speed operation of<br />

loaders, trucks, ore trains <strong>and</strong> personnel transport vehicles. In these cases, the excavations<br />

are designed <strong>and</strong> equipped to tolerances comparable with those in other areas of<br />

engineering practice. The practical mining requirement is to ensure that the designed<br />

performance of the permanent openings can be maintained throughout the mine life.<br />

In rock mechanics terms, this requirement is expressed as a necessity to locate the<br />

relevant excavations (<strong>and</strong> associated structures) in areas where rock mass displacements,<br />

strains <strong>and</strong> tilts are always tolerable. The magnitudes of these mining-induced<br />

perturbations at any point in the rock medium surrounding <strong>and</strong> overlying an orebody<br />

are determined, in part, by the nature <strong>and</strong> magnitude of the displacements induced by<br />

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